Toothbrushes have been the subject of myriads of improvements over the years to make them more convenient, more transportable, and more efficient for consumer use. Some of such improved toothbrushes have provided for a brush which will carry toothpaste inside the handle and which has a mechanism for forcing the paste onto or adjacent to the bristles.
Since the invention of the paste-carrying brush, improvements have been made in an attempt to provide a manner of sealing the unused paste from exposure during and after use of the brush. To date, the majority of such improvements provide a gate that is located such that a large amount of paste may still be exposed between the gate and the bristles. However, those known devices having structure for blocking the passage of the paste more proximate to the bristles do not provide a gate which can vary the rate of delivery.
In addition, the known prior art does not disclose a simple and clean method of loading paste into the handle. Along these same lines, the inventor is not aware of any prior art devices which provide any indication of when the handle will require more paste.